


miser Plinius

by Tetraphosphate



Category: 1st Century CE RPF, Ancient History RPF, Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
Genre: English translation of this in chapter 2, Gen, Pompeii, Vesuvius, and my questionable English too, i got up one day and decided that writing a story about Pliny in Latin would be a good idea, my undying love for Pliny expresses itself, please excuse my questionable Latin
Language: Lingua latina
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 05:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17739515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tetraphosphate/pseuds/Tetraphosphate
Summary: Vesuvius erupts. Pliny sails to the fiery mountain...





	1. MISER PLINIVS

**Author's Note:**

> Vesuvius ardescet. Plinius ad argentem montibus navigat...
> 
> (English translation in next chapter)

Gaius Plinius Secundus notum naturalis fuit. olim germana Plinium, illo se lauto, cibo esso et nunc librum scribebat, narrat maiorem nubem ab Vesuvio surgere. surrexit statim ille, ut spectaverim id. “di immortales! quid fit?” exclamavit. “propior adspicere debeo, meus libro.” 

Plinius Secundus Gaium Caecilium Cilonem “visne venire mecum? numquam talis miraculum naturae iterum incideret” rogavit. 

ille “ego manebo, nam me libros legere dedisti.” sic solus Plinius Secundus ad Vesuvio navigare paravit.

nuntio Plinium exiturum constitus est, et “Rectina, amicus tuus, auxilio poscet. a Pompeiis fugere non potest, et-” inquit.

ille “tace, ego legere possum” interfatus est. tum iussit ut quadriremes navigaret, Rectinam familiamque salvare. ipse in lembo navigavit. prope Herculaneum sine consistendum vaserunt, ad Pompeios festinaverunt. sed adveniens Plinius adgredi non potuit, quoniam cursus pumicibus cineribusque in aqua praecludibantur.

itaque ad villae Pomponianum Stabiae navigavit. adventus Plinius amicum “ave, care amice! quid agis?” salutavit. 

ille “miserrimus sum! ecce, leta ab montis exuberant! quietus tot esne tam, Plini?” eiulavit. 

Plinius “noli anxiare, hae res solummodo actiones naturis sunt, non timeri sunt. cras ventus vertet et hinc decedemus. fortiter donec ille sta.” confirmavit. sed Pomponianum quiescere non potuit, propterea quod ille anxiissimus est. Plinius se lauto et cibo cenato ad cubiculum evit et dormivit.

dum Plinius dormivit, Pomponianus non poterat quoniam ardescentis Vesuvi et conterritus erat. interim pumices cineresque ponderose cecidi. his e villa constructis, mox Plinius cubiculum exire non potuerit, ideo Pomponianus illum expergefecit, “sonorissime tam stertibat, possum extra cubiculo audire,” dixit. 

“non verus est, tu iocas.” ille solum adnuit subrisitque. tum e villa exiverunt. obscurissimus est, videre non potuerunt ita lumena accendint. Plinius maximus nubes Vesuvii conspexit, “babae! numquam rem vidi mirabilior quam hunc!” clamavit et proximior ingressus est.

subito nubis columna basis succubuit. fraglantes fragmenta frixerunt et e caelum ceciderunt. Plinius “ecce, mirabilissumus est!” exclamavit. sed periculum latum ab nube non cognovit. inaspectum inapparitumque noxios latos vento fumos aerem permanaverunt et cumulaverunt. miser Plinius offucatus est, spirare per densum gasum non potuit et subcidit. mortuus fuit.

Gaius Plinius Secundus nunc naturalis non fuit… sed semper commonefietur.


	2. POOR PLINY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ecce, the English translation.... tadaaaaaa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English isn't my first language... so this translation's not gonna be the best. One of these days I'll make a better translation

> Pliny the Elder was a famous natural scientist. One day, when he was writing his book after he bathed and ate food, his sister told him about a great cloud of smoke rising from Vesuvius. He stood at once, in order to see it. “Immortal gods! What’s happening?” he exclaimed. “I must take a closer look, for my book.”
> 
> Pliny asked his nephew Gaius*, “Do you want to come with me? Such a miracle of nature might never occur again.”
> 
> (*aka Pliny the Younger, the adopted son of Pliny the Elder. Pliny the Elder adopted him through his will (after he died) so at this point in time he's still called Gaius Caecilius Cilo and not Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus. I decided to call him Gaius)
> 
> Gaius replied, “I will stay, for you have given me books to read.” Thus Pliny prepared to sail to Vesuvius alone.
> 
> Pliny was about to leave, when a messenger arrived, who said, “Rectina, your friend, is asking for help. She is unable to flee Pompeii, and-”
> 
> “Yes, yes, I can read,” Pliny interrupted. Then he ordered for the quadriremes** to set sail, to rescue Rectina and her household. Pliny himself sailed in a small cutter. Hurrying to Pompeii, they went past Herculaneum without stopping. But he was not able to get close to Pompeii, because the way was blocked by pumice stones and ashes on the water.
> 
> (**Quadriremes are a type of Roman warship, and since Pliny was an admiral he was in command of some of these)
> 
> So he sailed to the villa of Pomponianus at Stabiae. After he arrived, Pliny greeted his friend, “Hello, my dear friend! How're you doing?”
> 
> He replied, “I am the most distressed, Pliny. Look! Death and destruction are spewing forth from the mountain! How can you take this so calmly, Pliny?”
> 
> “Do not worry,” Pliny reassured. “These are only workings of nature, and are not to be feared. Tomorrow the wind will change, and we will leave this place. Until then, stand firm.” But he was not able to reassure Pomponianus, as he was very anxious. After bathing and eating food, Pliny went to his room and slept.
> 
> While Pliny slept, Pomponianus was kept awake by his fear of the erupting Vesuvius. Meanwhile, pumice stones and ash were falling heavily. These piled up outside the villa, and soon Pliny would not have been able to leave his room, so Pomponianus woke him, saying “You were snoring so loudly, I was even able to hear you from outside your room.”
> 
> “That’s not true! You jest,” Pliny protested. Pomponianus only smiled and nodded. They exited the villa, but they could not see anything because it was so dark. Pliny caught sight of the great ash cloud from Vesuvius. “Oh my, I have never seen anything as fascinating as this!” he said, and walked closer.
> 
> Suddenly the base of the cloud collapsed. Burning fragments of ash cooled and fell from the sky. “Fascinating… so, fascinating…” Pliny said as he watched. But he was not aware of the hidden danger the cloud carried, unseen and unlooked for. Carried by the wind, noxious gases began to permeate through the air… amassing together… Poor Pliny was suffocated, unable to breathe through the dense gas. He fell to the ground, dead.
> 
> Gaius Plinius Secundus is no longer a natural scientist… but he will always be remembered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eheu, my English is worse than my Latin. i swear the Latin sounded so much better. this is why I never got good marks in English lol
> 
> I should also add that this story is loosely based on the BBC documentary "Pompeii: The Last Day", and some of the dialogue is borrowed from that. Go check it out, it's an awesome doco.


End file.
